


Life Begins At Dusk//Dwayne/F!Reader

by aGameOfScones



Category: Lost Boys (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 11:05:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19294459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aGameOfScones/pseuds/aGameOfScones
Summary: (Y/n) Emerson has moved into her grandfather's house, with her two brothers and her mother, in the coastal town of Santa Carla, ready for a new life away from the familiarity of Phoenix.Dwayne has looked 20 for nearly 90 years, and he finds that his immortality has altered what he finds interesting. He desires action and spontaneous fun once again. What will happen in this version of that Summer in 1987 when the Lost Boys stumble upon the Emerson twins and their little brother?





	1. People Are Strange

“Oh, how bout this!”, gushed your mother in excitement at recognising another old, and bad song on the car radio.

“Gosh you guys are rough,” she complained as you and your brothers changed the station for a fourth, then a fifth time.

When the next song sounded, you and your brothers grimaced at one another noticing your mother perk up in the front seat.

“Keep going-“

“Oh, oh wait, wait, wait that’s one from my era! Groovin’ on a Sunday afternoon!”. She sang joyfully, and danced in her seat for the first time in many months, albeit still out of key and with no rhythm.

Sam looked to you and Michael in the back as you all groaned. “Keep going!”.

“Keep going, ok” your mother laughed, changing the station, and finally leaving it when the familiar 'People Are Strange' riff began, a perfect soundtrack as you neared the coastal town of Santa Carla.

“Hey we’re almost there!”, she told the three of you, you and Michael rolling your eyes at each other as Sam complained about the smell, and your mother defended the ocean air. 

“It smells like someone died!”

Your mother sounded apologetic as she attempted to explain to Sam and the two of you why you all had to leave.

Your father wasn’t a great guy, and your mum didn’t want a big and pointless legal battle with the dick, which you thought was a good call. Though not too enthused at the idea of moving from your home in Arizona, you appreciated your mother winning custody of the three of you, as you would’ve hated to part from either one or both of your brothers, or to part especially your mother. You loved the three of them too much to let them go. 

Your place was with your loving, generous mother and your dumb brothers. You’d never tell your brothers that, despite how affectionate the three of you could be. 

Now your grandfather was a part of the Emerson clan, as the three of you decided to take your mother’s maiden name, as one final blow of rejection to your father. Though your mother never commented on it, you knew she was at least a little bit thankful and slightly chuffed at how accepting and supportive you and your brothers had been.

Though your mother was attempting to soothe your worries about your new home, you and Michael couldn’t help the raised eyebrows you sent one another as you noticed the blood red words on the back of the sunny and picturesque sign. Words that couldn’t help but make you feel uncomfortable at the thought.

“Murder capital of the world?” You whispered to your twin. He looked at you with wide eyes, and mouthed ‘fuck’ at you, then smirked.

“Let’s hope they haven’t got gramps yet”, he whispered back conspiratorially. You nudged Michael and laughed, relaxing back into your seat next to the ever-so calm Nanook, who only offered what looked like an annoyed glance as you ruffled his fur as an apology for bumping him.

Watching the town and it's inhabitants pass by, you couldn’t help but notice how strange this place was, too strange. No style seemed to match the vibe of the place and all of these strangers looked weird, weirder than your own home towns young people and fashion trend followers. 

You couldn’t but think of the two best friends you’d left back home who wouldn’t at all be pleased with the ‘aesthetic’ of Santa Carla. Between the creepy signs and the common freaks wondering around, Santa Carla would certainly horrify your friends enough to think you were being abused being made to live in a place that in the first minute of entering had a murderous and freaky atmosphere. 

Despite that, the cool ocean air and the laughter you were seeing gave you an idea that Santa Carla wasn’t all it seemed, and there were underlying moments of excitement and fun. You’d be fine. At least you certainly hoped you would. 

The three of you briefly stopped in the centre of the town, while you and Michael attempted to find a job and vehicles for the two of you to ride without taking your mum’s car everywhere. 

Luckily you both found two relatively cheap motorbikes, and using money saved up from your last jobs, you two purchased the dirt bikes. Michael’s was a rusted red colour while yours was (y/f/c). You and Michael thanked the shifty salesman, and returned to your mum’s car, your next task to find the two of you a job.

You and Mike approached a blonde man with strange sunglasses who’d been lurking nearby since you’d arrived.

“There any jobs around here?” Your brother asked hopefully.

“Nothing legal” he quietly told the two of you before wondering off along the path. You both chuckled to yourselves as you headed back to your mother and waited on your bikes for her to finish telling Sam to feed all the homeless kids garbage diving. 

The four you eventually headed further into town and up into the wooded hills, your mother in the lead with the truck and trailer, you then Michael following along on your new bikes. As she pulled up to your grandfather’s house, your new home, you and Michael pulled up beside her, the two of you sharing a grimace as you looked around at your grandfather’s strange and crowded front yard.

You studied the statues and animal carvings that littered the front yard, your eyes caught on the strange little single camper trailer that was behind a fence and a strange table and umbrella. 

“Reckon he’s a nutcase,” you twin spoke behind you quietly making sure Sam and you mum couldn’t hear his insult. 

“Give him some credit Mike, he’s fuckin’ loopy,” you replied just as quietly, ignoring Sam’s inquisitive glance towards the two of you. You knew he’d ask you about it later.

The four of you were quiet as you and your brothers looked around then to your mother as she approached the body lying on the porch.

The three of you wondered over together as you mother called out to her dad. 

“Dad!” She called, as she tried to shake him awake.

“Be a shame if we had to head back after that 15 hour drive cos he died as we got here” you whispered to Sam, your arm around his shoulder as he nestled into your cheek, the exhaustion from the trip hitting him.

“Looks like he’s dead” said Michael, who alarmed you with how nonchalant he sounded. 

“No, he’s just a deep sleeper,” reassured your mother, who continued her attempts to wake him.

“If he’s dead, does that mean we can go back to Phoenix,” asked Sam, still reeling from your joke earlier. 

You stifled a laugh at your mother’s glare, jumping when you saw your grandfather’s head raise.

“Playing dead, and from what I heard, doing a damn good job at it too”.

Your mother and your grandfather embraced, your brothers turning to face you as you still stifled another laugh. 

“Looks like we’ve got a weirdo on our hands boys” you whispered to them, making the Michael roll his eyes while Sam looked genuinely concerned. 

You entered the house led by your grandfather and mother and immediately noticed the cabin-in-the-middle-of-the-woods feel that washed over you as you took in the stone and wood décor that littered the house. It didn’t seem to bad if you got over the strange yet inevitable old person knick knacks your grandfather had lying around.

“This is a pretty cool place,” said your twin as he carried in some of his weight gear and clothes from the car.

Sam while carrying his comics and Nanook’s dog bowl which you noticed he’d packed and tied together for some weird reason, disagreed with Michael as they joined you in the kitchen.

“Yeah for the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’,” complained Sam, making you roll your eyes.

“C’mon Sam, give mum a break,” Michael chided lightly.

“What’s wrong with this picture” asked Sam, looking at you.

“Tell us Sammy,” you replied, exasperated with Sam’s teenage sass. You weren’t like that at fifteen. At least, you hoped not. Your poor mum. 

“There’s no TV!” He cried. You and Mike groaned at his dumb complaint. “Have you seen a TV?” He asked you, a worried look on his face. “I haven’t seen a TV (Y/N/N)! You know what it means when theres no TV?”

Sam had slammed his comic/dog bowl pile on the kitchen table and gave you an intense look that told you this was clearly a much bigger deal than what you’d originally thought. 

“No MTV!,” he stated matter-of-factly, losing all whine and worry from his voice. 

“Sammy!” You and Mike cried, you in response to his brat-like behaviour, and Michael because he was frustrated with Sam.

“We’re flat broke,” he calmly told Sam, clearly missing the gym as he was lifting his weights in the sun room, sweat already at his brow. 

 

————————————

 

Sam had been bothering Michael since the three of you had chosen your rooms upstairs, and lucky you had ended up between the two of them. You hoped that your brothers wouldn’t annoy you too much if they brought friends or crushes over, like Michael and Sam had back in Phoenix. Michael with the chicks and Sam with his nerdy comic friends screaming over the developments in Superman. 

You were downstairs when you heard the heavy footfalls and shrieks of Sam who leapt down the stairs and ran into your back. 

“Help me (Y/N/N)! Save me from Mike,” cried your little brother as he gripped your shirt, quickly apologising to your shouting mother after he nearly tripped into her.

Michael followed a terrifying look on his face, your mother yelling again.

“Hey guys! No running in the house!”, she yelled, exasperated by the sudden burst of energy from her children. 

“Oh no way am I getting into your mess again Sammy, your on your own!” You shouted trying to pry your brother’s hands off you just as your twin rushed towards the two of you. You and Sam ran from the grinning Michael towards the sliding doors in on the other side of the living room. 

Sam slid them open as Mike ran into your back, the three of you staring in shock at the menacing red-lit room filled to the brim with your grandfather’s creepy taxidermy creations and equipment. 

“Talk about the Texan Chainsaw Massacre,” muttered Michael in the ears of the two of you, Sam giving a breathy chuckle as he nudged Michaels cheek.

“RULES! We got some rules around here,” your grandfather drawled, his face peering at the three of your startled faces with a scowl that seemed such a natural part of his face, you wondered if he ever smiled. His hands clutched one of the boxes from the trailer, his blue eyes narrowed towards you. 

He showed you the fridge, you and Sam giggling at the OLD FART label that covered his shelf filled with dark bottles and strange snacks. 

“Second shelf is mine; that’s where I keep my root beer and my double thick Oreo cookies. Nobody touches the second shelf but me. Now, another rule around here…”. 

The three of you failed to listen to the rest of your grandfather’s rules once Michael pointed out the cannabis plant growing outside the kitchen sink window. You recognised the plant as soon as Michael drew your attention to it, but your baby brother had no idea, so Michael imitated the action of smoking a joint and when Sam realised what it was, he turned to you and laughed, grinning as you joked that you’d all smoke it together when your mother and grandfather had left the house. 

With your arm around Sam, you and your brothers followed your grandfather through the living room, still not listening to him. 

“Hey grandpa!,” called Michael, not even pretending to have listened to your grandfather’s speech. “Is it true Santa Carla’s the murder capital of the world?”, he asked, the three of you now quiet as you waited for your grandfather’s response. Maybe you’d have to back to Phoenix for safety. You could tell that’s what Sam was hoping for. 

“Uhhh, well there’s some bad elements around here,” he half-heartedly answered, with no worry or caution in his voice. 

“Wait a second, let me get this straight. Are you telling me that we moved to the murder capital of the world, are you serious grandpa?”, cried Sam, the whine from earlier creeping back into his voice at the thought of living somewhere as notoriously dangerous as Santa Carla. 

You couldn’t help but sympathise with your brother. You too had felt some unease when you and Michael had read the menacing red letters painted on the back of the sign, which almost felt metaphorical with how well-hidden that tidbit of important information was from those who were unfamiliar with the area. 

You were unsure if you were glad you’d seen the writing or not, and you still were hoping it was a sick joke the locals liked to play on visitors and newcomers, although something told you that wasn’t the case. You remembered the missing posters you’d noticed in town and near the boardwalk from earlier in the day, and felt a shiver run up your spine. Your twin noticed and offered you a look of concern, getting closer to you in order to listen to your grandfather. 

“Well let me put it this way, if all the corpses buried ‘round here was to stand up at once, you’d have one hell of a population problem,” he replied in a matter-of-fact tone, one that made your heart rate pick up slightly at the brief thought of an full house zombie invasion.

Sam turned to you and Michael his eyes wide in fear, Michael returning it with a silly look. You attempted to soothe his nerves by smirking and rolling your eyes as if the very notion was a ridiculous exaggeration, but when he turned back around and you followed your grandfather and listened to his pedantic rules about the TV guide, you still couldn’t help but feel creeped out at the thought of suddenly going missing from the boardwalk or in from in town one night.

You were broken out of your thoughts by Michael’s arm wrapped around your shoulders, his other hand in a fist, lightly ruffling your hair as you watched your grandfather slam the sliding doors in Sam’s face.

Sam turned around, a large pout on his face and you returned his pout and sad eyes with a pout of your own making him grumble about his lack of access to a TV.

“C’mon Sam, we’ll head to the boardwalk later this afternoon and explore the Santa Carla nightlife,” suggested Michael, your thoughts quickly rushing back to your worries about Santa Carla’s missing and deceased population.

Sam sighed and retreated back up the stairs to his room, you assumed to pout and sulk in his comics, lamenting about his lack of a TV.

“What’s bugging ya little sis?”, asked Michael, ruffling your hair with more force this time making you yelp and whack him in the head with your hand. He let go and rubbed the side you’d hit with a frown on his face.

“Y’know there’s barely 5 minutes between us, old man, get out of it ‘first born’,” you growled to him, mocking him of his ‘eldest’ status that he loved to hold over you.

“Fight me,” he growled back and the two of you retreated upstairs to your rooms.

You walked into your room and shut the door, glad that Michael forgot or ignored the first part of your question. You weren’t ready to let him know of your fears of going missing. Albeit a little teasing, he wouldn’t make fun of you, but he wouldn’t really understand your worry, with a subtle claim that he had the ability to protect you, Sam and Mum from anything. You didn’t doubt this but you didn’t want it to turn into an argument, one that the two of you have had in the past, particularly when your father was brought up. 

You shook away your thoughts and returned to the decoration and construction of your humble abode. For next few hours, you barely saw your family members, sticking to your room and finishing the final touches and organising your records, books and trinkets to your liking. 

After you’d organised your room to look and feel like some semblance of your room back in Arizona, you leapt up onto the large double bed now draped in your sheets, blankets and throws and littered with too many pillows of all different sizes and colourful cases. The large three-panelled windows above and to the sides of your bed were each slightly open, allowing a cool summer breeze from the water to wash up in the room and over you as you curled up with the book you’d been reading in the car.

You’d found it at a second-hand bookstore on the trip to Santa Carla when you had a brief stop to get some snacks and or some entertainment. You’d decided to entertain yourself with a book that was published about eleven years ago called ‘Interview With A Vampire’, and a few pages in, you were hooked.

You were just learning more about Louis’s adjustment to his vampiric lifestyle when Sam burst into your room and threw himself onto your bed startling you. 

“Sammy, do you mind?! You scared the shit outta me!” You shouted at him, closing your bookmarked page and hitting him with the disheveled book, grinning evilly at his cries for you to stop.

You relented and put your book on your bed side table, looking at him expectantly. Sam understood immediately. 

“We’re going down to the boardwalk now to explore, wanna come?,” Sam asked smiling up at you from where his head was resting on your thigh as you sat crossed legged. 

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world Sammy,” you said to him. You grinned down at him and quickly shoved him off you bed, laughing when you heard the thud and muffled ow as his face was squished against the thick and fluffy rug you’d placed under your bed. 

You laughed at your brother’s misfortune and told him to get out so you could get ready. Sam pouted at you as he left your room.

Quickly walking to your full length mirror in your wardrobe, you smiled to yourself and giving yourself a once over decided to brush your hair and grab your small coin purse and your (f/c) jacket in case it got cold along the beach or boardwalk. 

Racing downstairs you bumped into your mother.

“Hey mum, when we going? Any plans?” You asked her steadying her from your accidental bump into her. Your mother beamed at you, glad to see you after the few hours you’d spent in your own space.

“Well if you and Michael could find a job that would be wonderful, however I don’t mind if you spend the evening just browsing and exploring the area,” she told you. “I’m just grabbing some things and then I’ll meet you and the boys in the car”. 

You beamed back at her and quickly kissing her cheek, wandered outside, shouting a goodbye to your grandfather, then shrugging when you heard no reply.

You, Sam and Michael all waited in the car, playing with the exhausted Nanook who’d spent the afternoon harassing the horses in the surrounding paddocks of your grandfather’s house. The three of you spotted your mother coming down the steps so you and Sam kissed Nanook’s head as a goodbye, Michael giving his head a light rub before returning to your seats and closing the doors. 

Your mother sat in the driver’s seat and smiled at you all from where she sat.

“Let’s go exploring!,” she exclaimed excitedly, turning down the long driveway, leading you and your brothers towards the bright lights of the boardwalk, against the gradually darkening Santa Carla sky.


	2. Beauty Has Her Way

You’d been at the boardwalk for a few hours now. Your mother was off job hunting and after some small yet fruitless efforts from you and Michael, your mother let the two of you and Sam go explore the rest of the boardwalk. You went with Sam on some of the rides that he could handle, screaming with joy as you were whipped around in all directions, except for upside down. You didn't want to deal with the inevitable vomit from Sam.  
Your head and insides felt all muddled, weirdly relaxing you and you felt excited to explore this new town, ready to experience as much as you could in one night.

It was while the three of you were walking, and snacking on some hot chips you’d bought from a street cart that you noticed a party happening on the beach, a super-muscled and oiled-up man with long hair singing and jamming on his saxophone into a microphone, the large crowd of hundreds going absolutely wild, with flailing arms and long, teased hair being whipped a round in a frenzy of excitement. It looked just like your type of party.

You convinced your brothers to go down onto the beach with you so you could jam out with the people of Santa Carla. Sam was dancing with you, the two of you twirling each other around and jumping around like a pair of lunatics. Your (h/l) hair was out and kept getting blown in your face but you were having too much fun to care about the amount you were inevitably inhaling. 

Michael was watching the two of you, pretending to not know who you were, the small smile he was trying to hide, convincing you that your brother was trying to look cool to impress the number of attractive girls that surrounded your trio. 

You and Michael smiled to each other as you watched Sam try to dance like the man on stage, laughing when he noticed the two of you watching him and went red with embarrassment.

You and Sam were still watching the man on stage when you noticed Michael’s drifting gaze. You immediately began trying to see what he was looking at. Sam had noticed that you had stopped moving with the music and the surrounding crowd. He turned to look at the two of you, and watched your eyebrows furrow as you attempted to find what your brother was looking at. Sam noticed Michael’s entranced look and tried to re-focus his attention by pushing his face towards the stage. You snorted at Sam’s method and rolled your eyes when you spotted Michael’s gaze continually wondering over to the other more vibrant crowd a few feet away over the course of the next two songs.

Suddenly Michael rushed off, Sam following immediately, desperate to find out what was bothering your brother. Sam was nosy like that. You called out to them but Michael either ignored you or couldn’t hear you over the cheering crowd, his focus on whatever he’d been looking at. You scoffed and yelled for them to be careful, your eyebrow raised when Sam looked back briefly only to flash you a quick thumbs up, before running after your twin.

“Idiots,” you muttered to yourself. 

You danced to the music alone for a while. Near the end of the concert you made some dancing friends with a group of girls nearby who liked your moves and saw you dancing by yourself. 

You danced and laughed along with them and you jokingly ogled the leading man of the band together. Soon they had to leave as they were only stopping in town for the night and had an early drive the next day. You waved goodbye through the crowd, watching as they disappeared in amongst the sea of waving arms and wild hair.   
You were now entirely on your own and figured you should stop dancing and go find your mother, your brothers or a job.

Pushing your way out of the crowd and smiling to yourself at all the colourful and strange people you passed, you made your way up onto the boardwalk, and looked around taking in the bright lights. 

As you passed the many food carts and games that littered the sides of the boardwalk, you spotted your mother holding the hand of a young boy you didn’t recognise. You ran over to her as she entered the shop, reaching a hand out onto her shoulder.

“Hey Mum! Whose the kid?”, you asked. Your mother jumped at your voice and turned around, her eyes wide. 

“Oh my god (Y/n), you gave me a fright!”, she cried, quickly telling you about the boy.

“Hi, I’m (Y/n),” you introduced with a smile on your face. The boy looked up at you shyly and took your outreached hand and softly shook it, while your mother asked the spectacled man at the front desk for help. You followed your mother into the video store and tried to soothe the upset boy with jokes and silly faces. 

“Terry!”, cried a high feminine voice. You were startled when the boy whose hand you held quickly turned towards the sound.  
You spotted his worried mother race into the store and quickly embrace him.   
“Oh my goodness, I thought I’d lost you!”, she cried, holding her son’s face as she inspected him for injuries.

“Thank you, both of you, so much!”, she cried to you and your mother. 

“You’re welcome, bye Terry!”, replied your mother, waving to the now happy boy and his mother, the free lollipop the man at the front desk had given him quickly in his mouth.

You gave a small wave and smiled to the retreating boy, quickly turning when you heard your mother and the man at the front desk beginning to converse. 

You laughed as your mother accepted the lollipop the man gave you and raised an eyebrow when he offered one to you.

“No thank you, I’ve got a bag of lollies at home waiting for me,” you told him. His response surprised you when his smile dropped immediately and his eyes darkened with hostility. Was this man seriously that offended by you declining his offer for a lollipop?

“I told you not to come in here anymore” he almost growled at you. Your mother grabbed your hand and pulled you towards her when she noticed the group of disheveled young men lurking behind you. 

You realised the man hadn’t been talking to you and you quickly turned and noticed the four teens behind you. 

The man at the front desk and the group of boys were engaged in an intense and hostile staring contest, and you couldn’t help to notice how attractive the two guys closest to you were. They were both blonde, the smallest of the four, although not by much, wearing a colourful patch jacket, his long golden curls blending well with the vibrant jacket. His next friend along looked like he’d walked straight off of a ‘Twisted Sister’ album cover, with his mesh top and high, and wild blonde hair. 

The two of them noticed you staring at them and offered you dangerous smirks that made your heart race at how sinister they looked. You attempted to keep your rising blush down by only raising an eyebrow at them which made the smaller one produce one of the most threatening smiles you’d ever seen. He looked like a sinister version of the Cheshire cat. You narrowed your eyes at them and they only chuckled before facing the man at the front desk.

It was when the tallest of the four, with his long dark hair turned to look at you that you felt your heart stop. He looked at you with such an intense gaze, you were sure everyone in the shop could hear your heart pounding, its sound deafening in your ears.

He was gorgeous. His dark eyes kept you frozen under their gaze, his sharp features prominent as you attempted to subtly skim your eyes over his face, studying every detail. You saw his eyes move slightly and you believed he was possible doing the same to you.

Your stomach fluttered at his single eyebrow raise and you were suddenly aware of your widened eyes and slightly parted lips that had come about from your staring.

Pressing your lips shut, you turned your head away from them, pretending to study the shelf of VHS tapes behind the front desk. You heard them beginning to leave and didn’t look back until their footsteps could no longer be heard.

While the man and your mother talked some more, you looked out the window, telling yourself it was to make sure they were gone, when suddenly across the boardwalk your (e/c) eyes met icy blue. The one you assumed was the leader stood on the other side of the boardwalk watching you intensely, his cold eyes looked with yours, his arms folded across his chest, his eyes narrowed. 

You narrowed your eyes back at him. His eyes widened and he offered you a dark smile, baring his teeth, before laughing and turning his back to you and riding away into the night on a motorbike, promptly followed by the other three, each one turning their head to you briefly before following him into the dark.

What the hell was that? You hoped you’d never see those guys again. Although attractive, you felt in your gut that those guys weren’t the most friendly or welcoming people to be around.

That was not a typical gang of teenagers, there was an underlying darkness, you could feel it seep through you when you saw them. Well, briefly, before you were distracted by the gorgeous and brooding brunette, you reminded yourself.

You willed the blush you felt arise to dissipate and you turned to your mother just in time to be introduced to Max, the man at the front desk and owner of the video shop.

“Nice to meet you,” he told you as he shook your hand. His hand was cold in yours and you felt the light scrape of his nails. You tied to not flinch at how creeped out you felt and offered a polite smile as you took back your hand.

You and your mother are also introduced to Thorn, the gorgeous white dog sitting obediently by the desk. You immediately knelt down and offered your hand. You let Thorn get used to your scent and after he softly licked your outstretched hand, you entertained the dog listening in to Max’s attempts to flirt with your oblivious mother. 

It was when he offered the two of you a job that you chimed in.

“Thank you Max for the offer, but I’d like somewhere away from my mother, no offence mum,” you told them. You smiled at the two of them and when your mother turned away, you gave a pointed look towards Max, hoping he’d understand.

It looked like he did as he nodded in understanding.

“Of course,” he began. “It’d be weird for a young lady such as yourself to work with your mother, and may impact on your social life in Santa Carla”. 

Wow, you thought. He’s good at bullshitting. He’d be a great help for any essays you’d have for school when the summer break ends.

“Thanks for understanding Max. Hey mum, I’m gonna go look for the boys and possibly a job, and we’ll meet you at the car in a little while ok?,” you told her, petting Thorn goodbye. 

“Ok, sure,” she replied and sent you a smile as you waved and left the shop. 

You were further down the boardwalk when you spotted your little brother speaking to two very serious looking boys, who looked to be about his age, possibly only slightly older. You could see a comic in Sam’s hands and were intrigued when you saw him hand it back to the boy with the red bandana. 

You jumped when a group of adults that you were standing near suddenly ran off, shouting out expletives to the boys Sam had been talking to who were shouting and sprinting after the group of adults.

“Sam!” you called out, catching his attention immediately. He smiled at you and wandered over to where you were standing.

“Make some friends Sammy?” You asked ruffling his hair.

“Huh, those guys? No way, too weird,” he told you, his eyes wide.

“What, too weird for even super-weirdo Sam Emerson? I don’t believe it!”, you told him smirking at the frustrated expression he had as you kept messing up his hair.

“Stop it, I’m normal!” he cried as he shoved you away from him, whacking your hand away from his golden locks.

“Sure nerd, let’s go find Michael then head home with mum, it’s getting late and there are some freaky people about,” you told him quietly as you led him away from the comic book store. 

As you neared the exit of the boardwalk and out onto the main road, Sam spotted Michael and pulled you over to him.

You noticed Michael was once again entranced by something, as he stood stock still.

You and Sam reached him and before you could ask what he was looking at, you spotted the group of boys from earlier, this time with a little boy and a pretty brunette around your age with them. 

You watched her graceful mount onto the bike shared with the icy eyed boy, and found your eyes were searching for the dark and brooding member of the group. You spotted him and noticed how he helped a young boy onto the bike. The boy smiled and hugged his waist and for a moment you thought you saw a glimmer of a smile on his lips.

The six of them turned to look at your trio, you with your arm around Sam who was grinning at your twin’s upset face when he realised what was going on.

You made brief eye contact with the brunette and he offered you a tantalising smirk, while the blonde leader gave Michael a cruel smile, similar to the one he’d given you outside the video store. You glared at them as they revved their bikes, yelled into the summer air and sped down the road. You noticed the girl Michael was ogling after kept looking back at him as she and the gang got further down the road.

“C’mon, she stiffed ya!”, laughed Sam as nudged your brother and started dragging you along the street to your mother’s car. You sent Michael a sympathetic smile as he fell into step with you and Sam. 

“Better luck next time Mike. I'm sure Santa Carla’s full of hippies like her,” you told him, grinning at the glare he sent you. 

You returned to the car where your mother was patiently waiting for the three you. As you drove out of town back to your grandfather’s place, you ignored the chirpy conversation between Sam and your mother, your mind drifting back to the strange group of teens you’d seen that night. That hippie looking girl hanging around those rough looking boys, their hair wild and clothing tight and dark eyes didn’t sit right with you. It looked wrong, unnatural.

You hoped that the girl of your brother’s dreams would be alright with those boys, for there were far too many missing posters on the boardwalk that night, and you knew that if one day you started to recognise the faces, you could be next.


End file.
